Have You Tried GCC Compass Yet?

Introducing GCC Compass: Another Way to Make Scouting Easier

A few years ago, we took a hard look at how Grand Canyon Council was organized. The basic model for how council staff, volunteers, financial resources, camps, and other resources worked together had evolved over more than a century. Rather than simply continuing to do things because we’d always done them that way, we asked a more fundamental question: 

If we were designing a council today, how would we build it to best support Scouting at the local level? 

That work eventually led us to a simple metaphor that continues to influence how we think about our role: an archery target. 

At the bull’s-eye are our local units: packs, troops, crews, ships, and posts. Everything else we do should ultimately strengthen and support them. In fact, we’ve tried to develop the habit of asking ourselves a simple question when considering how we spend our time and resources: How does this help the unit?

If we don’t have a good answer, we should probably question why we’re doing it.

The first ring around that bull’s-eye is technology. We’ve believed for several years that technology could make it easier for volunteers and families to navigate Scouting, but it has taken us some time to figure out exactly what that should look like.

Today, I’m excited to introduce one answer: GCC Compass.

An Answer When You Need It

GCC Compass is an artificial intelligence-based tool designed specifically around Scouting. Think of something like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, but instead of searching broadly across the internet, Compass is focused on current Grand Canyon Council and Scouting America information and resources.

That means you can simply ask it a question.

When is Camporee?

When is the next NYLT course?

What’s the policy on a particular activity?

How does this advancement requirement work?

Maybe the question comes up during a committee meeting. Maybe you’re planning an outing. Maybe you’re sitting around a campfire on Saturday afternoon and someone asks a question nobody can answer.

Pull out your phone and ask Compass. It’s available 24 hours a day from a phone, tablet, or computer anywhere you have internet access.

We have terrific staff members and unit coaches who are ready to help, and Compass isn’t intended to replace any of them. But we also recognize that a volunteer shouldn’t necessarily have to wait until Monday morning to get an answer to a question that comes up Saturday afternoon.

Sometimes the best support is simply getting the right information into someone’s hands at the moment they need it.

We’re Still Learning

There’s something else I want to be clear about: Compass will continue to evolve.

Artificial intelligence is new technology for all of us. We’ve worked to tightly focus Compass on trusted Scouting America and Grand Canyon Council information, but AI systems can occasionally misunderstand a question or provide incorrect information.

That’s one reason we’ve included a feedback tool on the Compass page.

Use Compass. Test it. Ask it the questions you actually encounter as a Scouting volunteer. And when you find something it doesn’t handle well, tell us.

Your questions and feedback will help us identify gaps we haven’t anticipated, add resources, and make Compass increasingly useful.

And if AI isn’t your thing? That’s okay, too.

Keep calling your unit coach. Keep contacting our staff. Those resources aren’t going anywhere. Compass simply gives you another option—and one that’s available immediately, 24/7.

I’ve already saved Compass directly to the home screen of my phone so it’s essentially another app. One tap and it’s there whenever I need it. I’d encourage you to give it a try yourself. 

Technology by itself doesn’t make Scouting better. But technology that removes friction, makes information easier to find, and gives volunteers more time to focus on creating great experiences for young people? 

That’s technology worth experimenting with. 

Give GCC Compass a try, play with it, and let us know what you think.

https://www.scoutingaz.org/compass/ 

Andy Price

Scout Executive & CEO, Scouting Arizona, Grand Canyon Council